BADLANDS

control

"and all the kids cry out, please stop you're scaring me."

1:10 AM

ashley is dragged back into the crowd the second she leaves the room, tremors spreading throughout her body.

she hadn't planned what to do next.

it's like she has no mind left- no thoughts can pierce through the veil of the diseased, corrupted void that filled her head. she sees the people around her, glimpses of faces possessing sheer happiness, but none of them register.

except for one.

the man's unhinged eyes were translucent, fixated onto her face. he was still, surrounded by a blur of movement. she moves through the crowd, focusing on the exit sign, illuminated in red light.

suddenly, she feels his cold hands wrapped around her wrist, the man shoving her body against his. his lips press against her ear as he hisses, "44 Ashfall Street. 2 am."

the words barely have time to register in her head before she's stumbling out of the club, cold air digging into her skin. her heartbeat is pounding inside of her ears, threatening to shatter her skull.

ashley throws herself forwards, each breath shooting through her chest as she runs through the barren streets. the words loop in her ears, barely audible over the thrumming in her mind. the gun in the palm of her hand is stained with blood, the roads of the badlands coated a crimson red.

-
"i'm bigger than my body,"
1:40 AM

the road breaks into a dead end, leading to a single house.

somehow, she knew. this was it.

everything she had done was to end the chaos that had spiraled out of control, tearing each thing in the life that she knew apart. the night curls around her silhouette, a brazen pale figure overshadowed by the hulking black gun. ripples of blue flicker across the trees from the pool behind the house, which was a grimy, desert colored home, windows hastily boarded shut.

ashley flips the gun around in her hands, weighing the cool steel against her palms. she knows she can't kill him, no matter how many times she tries.

but this time, she has a plan. because he knows something, zack knows something about this world that nobody else does.

she turns around and stares at the road behind her one last time, taking in the stretch of charred pavement she'll never see again.

it's time.

-

"who is in control?"

1:42 AM

ashley's arms are locked in front of her body, the end of the gun pressed to her chest. quiet hangs over the din, mist curling around her legs as the adrenaline pumps inside her heart and throughout her body. each ragged breath is drowned by the desperate static in her mind, building up in speed and sound until it threatens to burst out of her skull.

she squeezes her eyes shut, letting one last breath shudder throughout her frame.

she's ready.

suddenly, she slams the barrel of the gun into the window, the sound of glistening shards of glass raining down piercing her ears. she points the gun in front of her, heartbeat threatening to puncture through her ribcage.